League Play-Off

Stadion Penza
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Vasiliy Egorov made the kick off which started today's match. After a defensive mix-up in Penza's zone, Ruslan Ponomarenko stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Nikolay Eksler came out of the goal and Ruslan Ponomarenko tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Ruslan Ponomarenko recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 5th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ruslan Ponomarenko in the 9th minute of play forced Penza's goalkeeper Nikolay Eksler to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 15 minutes, Vasiliy Larionov mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Kursk and the Penza players grew even worse after the yellow card. After a rather tough play, Kursk's Vasiliy Larionov got a free kick in the 15th minute. The supporters of Kursk booed when Penza was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 17 match minutes in a wonderful position. Filimon Gromov didn't get a good kick on the ball. Ruslan Ponomarenko received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 20th minute. Nikolay Eksler tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 23rd minute, Penza's Vasiliy Egorov dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-0. Nikolay Eksler showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Albert Potapenko in the 28th minute of the match. After a rather tough play, Penza's Evgeniy Yablochkov got a free kick in the 28th minute. After some fancy dribbling in the 30th minute, Albert Potapenko managed to get in a good position for a shot. Kursk's supporters rose to their feet, but Albert Potapenko was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nikolay Eksler breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Albert Potapenko sent away a hard shot on goal in the 32nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Evgeniy Yablochkov charged in rather forcefully in the 33rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Evgeniy Yablochkov the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Kursk booed when Penza was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 33 match minutes in a wonderful position. Evgeniy Yablochkov didn't get a good kick on the ball. When the match clock showed 36 minutes, the score became 2-0 when Vasiliy Egorov sped through Kursk's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Ignat Bukashkin. After a rather tough play, Penza's Filimon Gromov got a free kick in the 41st minute. If Ruslan Ponomarenko had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 44th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Albert Potapenko to make the kick off. Filimon Gromov charged in rather forcefully in the 53rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Filimon Gromov the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 53rd minute, Filimon Gromov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 59 minutes into the match, Penza's goalkeeper Nikolay Eksler had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Ruslan Ponomarenko. Ruslan Ponomarenko recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 60th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 62nd minute Vasiliy Egorov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ignat Bukashkin saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Penza's Nikolay Eksler played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Albert Potapenko in the 65th minute of play. In the 66th match minute, Kursk was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Fedor Vanifatev to maneuver through the defense. In the 71st minute Albert Potapenko shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nikolay Eksler saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 73rd minute, Vasiliy Egorov made a precise shot to the right of Ignat Bukashkin. Kursk's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 3-0. 77 minutes into the match, Penza's goal looked a bit too open when Albert Potapenko came free, but Nikolay Eksler reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 79th match minute, Penza was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Evgeniy Yablochkov to maneuver through the defense. 3-1 became the score in the 80th minute when Albert Potapenko elegantly shot the ball into goal just under the crossbar. Albert Potapenko sent away a hard shot on goal in the 83rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ruslan Ponomarenko received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 86th minute. Nikolay Eksler tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Andrey Dinets charged in rather forcefully in the 89th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Andrey Dinets the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After a rather tough play, Penza's Filimon Gromov got a free kick in the 92nd minute. 96 minutes into the match, Kursk's Albert Potapenko sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Nikolay Eksler narrowly saved just below the crossbar. The home crowd let out a huge roar when the referee blew for the end of the game. Penza were victorious despite being under pressure from Kursk for much of the match.